The clothing of the high priest pictured the attitude of the high priest as he came before God. This attitude included both his heart, the deep inner self, and his head, his thought process.
Today, we will look at the turban, which covers the head.
“Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: holy to the Lord.
“Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban.
“It will be on Aaron’s forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the Lord” (Exodus 28.36-38).
Verses 29 and 30 tell us that the breastplate covered the heart of Aaron. In it were the names of the children of Israel and a way of determining God’s will for the people.
The turban was centered on the head and focused on the mind. The focal point of the turban was the saying, “Holy to the Lord.”
For my article today, I dig deeper into the phrase “Holy to the Lord” from a few perspectives and see how heroes of the faith have approached it.
God’s Holiness
The phrase “holy to the Lord” on the nameplate on the turban can only be possible if we understand God’s holiness first of all.
“I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45).
We think of holiness as a moral quality, and we are right to do that.
But holiness also emphasizes that God is other than the created world. He is unique. He is separate. He is incomparable with anything that is a part of creation.
God is not limited by the material world. He exists in a realm that is beyond what we can understand and is separate from all that is finite and imperfect. He alone is God.
Another major component of God’s holiness is His moral perfection. His actions, intentions, and attitudes are always perfect. He is the ultimate source of goodness and love.
Holy to the Lord
In the Book of Revelation, John praised Jesus for His shed blood. This blood frees us from our sins and gives us the opportunity and privilege to serve God as priests in the world.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen (Revelation 1.5-6).
Just as the high priest wore a turban with a nameplate saying “Holy to the Lord”, we are to have our minds characterized by God’s holiness. We are to be holy because He is holy.
Paul put it like this when he wrote to the church in Rome.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:2).
Both Paul’s words and the image of the High Priest in Exodus remind us that we are to be separated unto God. This encourages us to make sure that our attitudes and actions are aligned with God’s purpose, as opposed to just being tied to the world system.
The way that we deal with issues of justice, compassion, and righteousness will reveal our transformed minds.
We will navigate the moral dilemmas of our world in ways that honor our commitment to God, as opposed to merely reflecting the values of the world’s system.
I like the expression of Henry Blackaby who says, “You can’t go where Jesus is and stay where you are.”
Therefore, to be holy to the Lord means that we will be engaged in a process of personal spiritual transformation.
We will strive to connect intimately with the Lord, and to be changed through what James Houston calls a “transformational friendship.”
Lessons from the Saints
The talk of holiness may not sound attractive to our modern-day culture. However, there have been people throughout history who have desired holiness above all.
They realized that their soul could be one with God, that they could be united with Him in heart-to-heart connections.
We do well to consider the example of those who have gone before us. They wanted to meet with God, but they knew that their inside condition needed to be purified through surrender and self-emptying.
They knew they had to let go of their ego-driven desires and attachments that hindered their spiritual growth.
They were willing to align their thoughts, emotions, and actions with God’s will to allow His love to illuminate their innermost selves.
The high priest was dressed to meet with God in the Tabernacle. Paul reminds us that we are temples for the Holy Spirit.
We have a chance to nourish our inner temple through prayer, meditation, and self-giving love. When we do this, we create a space where God can dwell and manifest His transforming power.
The heroes of the faith show us that holiness is not just for us. When we live our lives aligned with God, we meet the people around us with compassion, kindness, and self-giving love.
We become beacons of love and extend God’s grace to others, bringing to people a touch of the Spirit’s presence.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
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